We are on Track in fulfilling Electoral Promises – FG
We are on Track in fulfilling Electoral Promises – FG
By Chris Suleiman Abuja
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has reiterated government’s commitment in fulfilling the electoral promises made during the electioneering campaign.
Speaking at the town hall meeting with members of Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) stakeholders at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja on Thursday, the minister maintained that he will not hesitate to say the government is on track.
Alhaji Lai mohammed, joined by his counterparts in Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enalameh, Labor and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello, and the Minister for Power, works and Housing, Bar. Babatunde Raji Fashola described the meeting with BON as an expanded edition of the earlier meetings.
Alh. Mohammed said, “This meeting, coming ahead of Sunday’s first year anniversary of this Administration. Many Nigerians have been asking; to what extent has the Administration fulfilled its electoral promises. My answer is simple: We are on track! Recall that we campaigned on three major issues; Tackling insecurity, fighting corruption and revamping the economy. Any dispassionate observer of the activities of government in the past one year will admit that the Administration has made great strides towards fulfilling its promises”.
“We appreciate the great and unprecedented trust that Nigerians repose in the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to steer the ship of state to safe shores. We acknowledge that the Nation is passing through a very difficult situation at this time, with the loss of over 60 per cent of our national income due to the crash in the price of crude oil. Many have asked me if indeed Nigeria is broke. In answering them, I have shunned semantics. I have simply asked them: If a man earning 100,000 Naira a month suddenly sees his salary plummet to 40,000 Naira, what is that called? Will he not have to make some painful adjustments? If he was living in a three-bedroom apartment, he would have to move out to perhaps a two-bedroom apartment. If his children had been in an expensive private school, he would have to change them to public schools. He might even have to sell his car, if he had any.
“This Administration is aware that it was not elected to make excuses but to put the nation back on a sound economic footing, ensure the security of lives and property and banish corruption. We have therefore decided to turn the disaster that we inherited into a blessing by diversifying our economy away from the mono-product of oil, leveraging on Agriculture, Solid Minerals as well as Culture and Tourism, among others. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, all misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune”.
Alhaji Mohammed assured Nigerians that the Change promised is real despite the tough situation at the moment saying, “Under the dedicated and visionary leadership of President Buhari. In fact, I make bold to say that had this government not been elected, there would have been no economy today. Now, make no mistake about it: The road will be rough. But as the saying goes, the darker the night, the brighter the morning. Our long suffering people will surely smile again.
“Change is no instant coffee. It is a process. We are now laying a solid foundation for our country. By earmarking 30 per cent of our budget to capital expenditure, we are building and rebuilding infrastructure. Through our massive social intervention this year alone, we are catering for the weak among us through the conditional transfer of 5,000 Naira to the vulnerable, we are creating jobs as we move to employ 500,000 graduates and 100,000 non-graduates, we are offering soft loans to market women, men and traders, we are ready to feed 5.5 million school children once daily, and we are providing scholarships to 100,000 students studying Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. In total, over 8 million Nigerians will benefit directly, and millions more indirectly, from our social intervention fund.
“Almost every country that is great today has passed through a rough road. The US survived the Great Depression that started in 1929 and lasted till the 1930s to become the world’s top economy; The depression also spread to Canada which today is a member of the G7 Group of Advanced Countries. Back here in Africa, about 20 years ago, people around the world were contributing money to feed Ethiopia. Today it is a model of sustainable economic development in Africa. Rwanda survived genocide to become an African success story. Nigeria will overcome the economic catastrophe, caused by years of bad governance, mind-boggling corruption and unprecedented profligacy, we must not despair, and we must keep hope alive”.
The Minister expressed the successes of the administration’s scorecard in tackling insecurity, fighting corruption and revamping the National Economy.
“This Administration is pulling Nigeria out of a tough economic situation while preserving the gains it has recorded in battling insecurity and tackling corruption”, he added.
